Islamic State video calls for jihad after Brussels blasts

.... In the footage, Islamic State noted that Belgium was part of a coalition fighting militants in the Middle East.

It featured the training of Belgian militants suspected in the Nov. 13 shooting and suicide bombing rampage by Islamic State that killed 130 people in Paris.

"The crusaders aircrafts, including Belgium’s, continue to bomb Muslims in Iraq and the Levant in the night and day," said the video.

"Every Muslim who is well aware of the history of Islam, knows that the holy war against infidels is an integral part of Islam, and those who read history would know."

Islamic State controls large parts of Iraq and Syria and has a presence in Libya and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. [Reuters] Read more

The M&S burkini for Muslim women shows Britain is letting sexism sneak in under the radar

.... M&S’s decision to market the burkini is not “the ultimate proof that Britain is truly multicultural”. It is yet more dismaying evidence that our own culture has failed to stick up for itself and is allowing misogynist attitudes to sneak in under the radar.

It takes me back to a summer thirty years ago. I was doing teacher training at a primary school in London where I was shocked to observe the social exclusion of little Muslim girls. Certain aspects of school life didn’t apply to them.

.... Not long ago, a German court ruled that a young Muslim girl must attend mixed school swimming lessons because the “social reality of life in Germany came above her religious beliefs”.

Yet in the UK we go on making the same mistakes; failing recently to clamp down on Sharia courts which regard a woman’s evidence as worth half that of a man.

And now, unbelievably, we have one of the nation’s favourite retailers marketing the burkini as if it were just another jolly beach outfit, not a restrictive, quasi-religious garment that treats the female form as lascivious and shameful. [The Telegraph] Read more

Denmark may strip citizenship from imams

Denmark could begin stripping citizenship from imams who preach ideas “contrary to basic Danish values”, in the latest draconian measure brought in to counter the threat of radical Islam.

The proposal, put forward by the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party, is aimed specifically at removing citizenship from Abu Bilal, the outspoken imam of the Grimhøj mosque in Aarhus.

It has already gained tentative backing from the ruling Liberal Party, the opposition Social Democrats and the Conservative party, meaning it is likely to win a majority in parliament.

The Danish People’s Party’s immigration spokesman Martin Henriksen told the Berlingske newspaper that the Danish Constitution already allowed limits on the freedom to practice religion. [The Local] Read more

‘If you come here you must be loyal to Swedish values’

Can Sweden’s humanitarian agenda really be balanced with secularity and security? The Local speaks to Abu Dhabi-based scholar and author Dr. Jamal Sanad al-Suwaidi about the conundrum.

Sweden is one of the most secular countries in the world. It’s also the EU nation which, per capita, takes in the most refugees from the Middle East.

And as “attacks” of various kinds like those in Paris and Cologne make the world ever warier, Sweden is facing a challenge: How much can the country actually take?

“I think European countries have been too soft, and they are paying the price for it,” says Abu Dhabi-based scholar Dr. Jamal Sanad al-Suwaidi.

Al-Suwaidi is Director General of the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), as well as the author of numerous articles and books. His latest work, The Mirage, focuses on the phenomenon of radical political Islam, its causes, and how it should be addressed. [The Local] Read more

Women and Shari’a Law by Elham Manea

Elham Manea’s forthcoming monograph, Women and Shari’a Law, offers an eloquent response to those who think Shari’a Councils have a legitimate place within a multicultural society, a response which builds on her own experiences as an activist for the rights of women and minorities both in Europe and in the MENA region. As she explains in the first chapter:

.... Some of those seeking to promote legal pluralism are people – such as former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams – who can rest secure in the knowledge that they will never have direct dealings with any ‘parallel’ justice system themselves. (It could be argued that Shari’a Councils are not strictly legal bodies, but the way they present themselves and are viewed by others has the effect of conferring a de facto legal status.) As Manea points out, some Westerners are unaccountably drawn to the least tolerant strands within Muslim communities. [Harry’s Place] Read more

A woman beheaded in the road. Five headless corpses hanging from cranes. As a documentary exposes the horror of life in Saudi Arabia, why DOES Britain cosy up to this kingdom of savagery?

Five bodies hang from a pole suspended between two cranes, a public display which serves as a reminder to those who might contemplate a life of crime.

They belonged to a gang of five robbers, all of whom were publicly beheaded before their corpses were hoisted high in the air, where they remained for days.

The gruesome sight is one scene in a shocking documentary to be aired this week which sheds light on life in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s bloodiest and most secretive countries.

The film, Saudi Arabia Uncovered, contains harrowing footage of beheadings. A woman dressed in black is held down at the side of a public road by four Saudi policemen, after she has been convicted of killing her stepdaughter.

She is executed with a sword blow to the neck, as she screams: ‘I did not do it.’

We have all heard of the brutality of the Saudi regime, but what makes this documentary so chilling is that we see it on camera.

In another beheading scene, the executioner, dressed in the white robes typically worn by Saudi men, raises his curved sword above his head and brings it down in a single sweep. [Daily Mail] Read more

Not just any burkini, it's an M&S burkini: The ultimate proof Britain is truly multicultural as Marks splashes out on a Muslim swimwear range

In what could be the ultimate sign of the nation’s growing diversity, Middle England’s favourite retailer has started selling burkinis.

Marks & Spencer now stocks two styles of the full-length swimwear, which is designed to protect the modesty of Muslim women.

The company explains that the £49.50 suit ‘covers the whole body with the exception of the face, hands and feet, without compromising on style’ and boasts: ‘It’s lightweight so you can swim in comfort.’

M&S has stores in Dubai and – perhaps surprisingly – Libya, which have sold the three-piece sets for the past three years.

But now they are available from the company’s website in the UK and will soon be on sale at the company’s flagship store in Marble Arch, Central London.

As well as appealing to Muslim women in the UK, the designs may prove popular with women worried about the damage that exposure to the sun could do to the skin. [763 comments]

[TOP TATED COMMENT 4217 votes] I'm a Christian man and I've had one for years. I use it for surfing and diving. It's called a wetsuit.

[2ND 3382] M & S have gone to the wall.

[3RD 3178] Stupid

[4TH 3073] Now, how about using what you have learned, M&S, to make decent day wear again?

[5TH 3025] If these women are truly Muslim they shouldn't be swimming in front of men anyway

[6TH 2896] We're doomed

[7TH 2538] It is to make money, for political correctness? The shape of things to come, I despair. [Daily Mail] Read more

Dutch lawmaker Wilders in court on hate speech charges

In a case that will test the limits of Dutch freedom of expression, firebrand lawmaker Geert Wilders appeared in court Friday for the first public hearing in a hate speech prosecution.

The pretrial hearing at a tightly guarded courtroom on the edge of Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport comes with Wilders' anti-Islam Freedom Party standing atop opinion polls a year ahead of Dutch parliamentary elections and with anti-immigrant sentiment rising across Europe.

Prosecutor Wouter Bos said the case pits two key pillars of the Dutch constitution against one another: A ban on discrimination and the right to freedom of expression.

"The importance of freedom of speech is great," he said. "It is one of the essential elements of our democratic society." But, he added, "freedom of speech is not absolute." [AP] Read more

Gender segregation: breaking the law to appease Islamism

Students and staff at the London School of Economics (LSE) are accustomed to being in the limelight. Whether it is taking money from North-African dictators, promoting anti-Muslim and homophobic charities or harassing atheist students for their ‘blasphemous’ t-shirts – LSE is often at the centre of controversy.

Now, another facet has been added to the picture. The London School of Economics Students’ Union Islamic Society recently held a gender segregated dinner.

The legal situation is clear. In their guidance on ‘Gender segregation at Events and Meetings: guidance for Universities and Students’ Unions’, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) states that: "Gender segregation is not permitted in any academic meetings or at events, lectures or meetings provided for students, or at events attended by members of the public or employees of the university or the students’ union (EHRC, 2014: 2)." [The Freethinker] Read more

Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders goes on trial for inciting hatred

.... State prosecutors say Wilders asked a crowd of supporters in March 2014 whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands, triggering the chant “Fewer! Fewer! Fewer!”, to which a smiling Wilders responded: “We’ll take care of that.”

The politician, whose decade-old Freedom party holds a commanding lead in Dutch opinion polls but has never been in power, denies any wrongdoing. “Nobody will silence me. Not about Moroccans either,” he tweeted last week. “No terrorist threats … no judge. Nobody.”

Wilders has lived under 24-hour protection since the 2004 murder of Theo van Gogh, who – like Wilders – made films criticising Islam.

The case against Wilders in 2011 centred on his call for a “towel-head” tax and equating the Qur’an with Hitler’s Mein Kampf. He said “Muslim criminals” should be stripped of their Dutch nationality and deported. [The Guardian] Read more

Why some Muslim parents home-school

As figures show home education is becoming more popular in the UK, BBC Asian Network has had access to an online community of Muslim parents who home-school their children.

The parents say they have taken their children out of school for a number of reasons, from the standard of education, to frustration with the government's anti-extremism strategy, Prevent.

The government says it is looking at strategies to make the system as "robust" as possible amid concerns children could be radicalised or fall off the radar. [BBC] Read more

Court rules four children must have vaccines after mother objects

A family court judge has ruled that four children must be immunised after their Muslim mother refused consent because she said vaccines contained pork gelatine.

Carol Atkinson said the children, boys aged six and nearly eight months and girls aged four and two, had a “variety of outstanding immunisations”. She did not say what diseases the immunisations related to.

The judge, who made the decision following a family court hearing in London, concluded that the mother had a “paranoid view of the world”.

Social workers had asked her to rule on a number of welfare issues – including where the children should live.

The children’s parents, both in their 20s, had separated, the judge heard. The children had been living with their mother in London but were taken into police protection after concerns were raised about their care. [The Guardian] Read more

Muslim mother refused to vaccinate children because of pork gelatine fears

A judge has ruled four children must be immunised after their Muslim mother previously refused consent in the belief the vaccines contained pork gelatine.

Judge Carol Atkinson, who sits in the family court, said the youngsters, two boys aged six and eight months and girls aged four and two, had a “variety of outstanding immunisations”.

The diseases the immunisations related to were not disclosed.

The judge concluded the woman had a “paranoid view of the world” following a family court hearing in London.

She ruled the children should live with their Somalian-born father, who is based in London, after social workers from Newham Council asked her to make decisions on a number of welfare issues.

The children’s parents, both in their 20s, had separated, the judge heard. [Evening Standard] Read more

Obscene Praise for the Pakistani Muslim Who Murdered a ‘Blasphemer’

Mumtaz Qadri, hanged last week for killing Punjab’s governor, is being hailed as a martyr and hero—bad news for a Christian woman charged with ‘blasphemy.’

Asia Bibi is a defenseless Pakistani Christian woman who was maliciously accused of “blasphemy” by her Muslim neighbors. They did this to settle a score after she committed the other “crime,” as a non-Muslim, of drinking water from the same cup as them. Asia was sentenced by Pakistan’s courts to death by hanging in 2010. She languishes in jail awaiting execution until this day. So far, so obscene.

Five years ago, Asia must have thought she had been given a lifeline. Imagine the delight felt by this powerless woman—for Christians are a tiny and discriminated against minority in Pakistan—when the governor of Pakistan’s largest province, the flamboyant secular Muslim, Salmaan Taseer, publicly took up her case. With such a high-profile champion, Asia would have been forgiven for thinking that her savior had arrived and that she would soon be freed.

The world reeled in shock at what happened next. [The Daily Beast] Read more

Pakistan: New law protecting women against abuse is against Islam say religious groups

More than 35 religious parties and groups in Pakistan have come together to call on the government retract a new law in the country's largest province of Punjab that protects women from abuse. Claiming that the law is unIslamic, they accuse the law of being part of the West's agenda to destroy the family system in Pakistan.

The Women's Protection Act was passed by Punjab in February to protect women from domestic, psychological and sexual violence. It also calls for the setting up of a toll-free abuse reporting hot line, women's shelters and district-level panels to investigate reports of abuse. The new law also mandates the use of GPS bracelets to keep track of offenders.

The law however seems to have fallen foul of the mainly conservative clerics and religious leaders. They have said it is in conflict with both the Koran and the Pakistan constitution.

"This controversial law to protect women was promulgated to accomplish the West's agenda to destroy the family system in Pakistan," reads the joint declaration from the conference comprising the religious parties and groups. "This act ... is redundant and would add to the miseries of women." [International Business Times] Read more

High Court ruling on teenager who refused to live with her family 'because they were not strict enough Muslims'

The girl, who had attempted to travel to Syria, should have been provided with alternative taxpayer-funded accommodation, judges rule.

A teenager who did not want to live with her family because "they were not strict enough Muslims" after being returned from the Syrian border, should have been provided with accommodation and support by the local authority, the High Court has said.

The 18-year-old girl, identified only as C, won a declaration that, from June 2015, she was a child in need and should now be regarded as a "former relevant child" who was entitled to a wide range of assistance until the age of 21.

The A-star student, who was born and brought up in the London Borough of Enfield, first came to the attention of the local authority in February 2014 when she travelled alone through Turkey to the Syrian border without her parents' consent. [The Telegraph] Read more

How Muslim Governments Impose Ignorance

I recently spent a few days in Malaysia, where I was promoting the publication of the Malay edition of my book, “Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty.” The publisher, a progressive Muslim organization called the Islamic Renaissance Front, had set up several talks for me in Kuala Lumpur.

As any author would be, I was happy to learn that the team was enthusiastic about my book and had been getting good feedback from audiences and readers. But I was troubled by something else that I suspect many Muslim authors have experienced: My publisher was worried about censorship.

The risk, I was told, was that the Department of Islamic Development, a government body that “was formed to protect the purity of faith,” could ban the book if it was viewed as violating traditional Islamic doctrine.

.... Today, many Muslims, including those who censor books or punish “heretics,” long for that “golden age of Islam” and lament that our civilization is no longer great. Few seem to realize, however, that the greatness of Islam was made possible thanks to its openness to foreign cultures and ideas.

The Muslim world began to stagnate and then decline after the 13th century, as this cosmopolitanism was replaced with self-isolating dogmatism. In the meantime, Europe flourished as Europeans began to think more openly.

The Muslim world today is in a state of malaise. Muslim societies are underdeveloped in science, technology, economics and culture. This will be overcome only with more freedom. Progress depends on more Muslims questioning whether policies that promote ignorance are really devised to protect their faith — or to protect the power of those who rule in its name. [NYTimes.com] Read more

Women segregated at LSE’s Islamic society banquet

The Islamic society of the London School of Economics has been criticised for hosting a banquet at which men and women were segregated by a screen 7ft high and had to dial separate phone numbers to buy tickets.

The event was held at the Grand Connaught Rooms, near the university in Holborn, on Sunday night. Tickets to the dinner, which cost £20, sold out.

The general secretary of LSE Students’ Union, who attended the event, described it as “comfortable and relaxed.” Nona Buckley-Irvine said that she had a lovely time at the dinner and “barely noticed” the separation.

She also defended the preference of Muslims students, saying that “where groups would like to organise themselves in a way that fits with their religious, cultural and personal beliefs, both genders consent, and there is no issue, I have no problem”. [The Times (£)] Read more

Worshipping as equals: Plans to build Britain's first women-led mosque

In Bradford, the Muslim Women's Council thinks its plans will go some way to address divisions in the community. David Barnett reports on their hopes and prayers.

.... “Without knowing, I had just walked into the men-only space,” she says. “I plucked up the courage to look around at the disapproving expressions, some men awkwardly looking away, some depreciatively staring directly at me, shaking their heads, and some confused and disoriented at a female figure invading their space, slowly moving away.”

One of the men, out of kindness to Nabeelah, offered to show her to the women's prayer space in the mosque. Well, almost in the mosque. She was taken back outside through the grand main entrance and directed around the side of the building to a back door, labelled with a marker pen as the “women's prayer room”. It couldn't have been more different from the calm, ordered atmosphere of the main mosque. [The Independent] Read more

Labour MP Attacks ‘Systematic Campaign’ By Men In Local Party To Ruin Her

Naz Shah warns of ‘patriarchy and misogyny’ within Muslim communities.

A Labour MP has revealed how she is being subjected to a “systematic campaign” by men in her local party to ruin her reputation.

Writing for The Huffington Post UK today, Bradford West MP Naz Shah said the attempt to “malign” and “denigrate” her character came after the national Labour Party acted to take control of the selection of candidates in key Bradford Council seats.

Shah was prompted to speak out following Monday evening’s Newsnight report on the experience of Pakistani women within the Labour Party.

Speaking to the programme, the Labour MP for Luton South, Gavin Shuker, said the party had a “real problem” in getting “capable young women in the Asian community selected” as parliamentary candidates. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more

PCC hopeful: ‘I would ban the burkha’

A woman battling to be the next police crime commissioner has spoken of her aim to see the burka banned in Biggleswade.

But English Democrat Toni Bugle insists she is being neither racist nor extreme.

“All I’m doing is talking common sense,” said the 47-year-old mum, who is busy raising £5,000 through GoFundMe to fund her PCC campaign.

“If people are wearing a burka they can’t be identified if they commit a crime. I don’t mind hijabs, because the face would still show on CCTV. But burkas should definitely go.

Toni, who lives just outside Biggleswade, is also pushing for the St George’s flag to be flown from all local police premises to wish that officers’ political correctness should fly out of the window. [Biggleswade Today] Read more

The country where you have to dodge the religious police to fall in love

'You know you’re getting serious if you’re on Snapchat'

Saudi Arabia goes to notorious lengths to prevent unsanctioned romance. So citizens of this conservative kingdom are increasingly turning to social-media networks to pursue relationships and plan forbidden rendezvous, people here say.

In a country with strict ­gender-segregation rules, unmarried men and women who mingle can face harassment or worse from religious police. Although Saudis have long cautiously challenged their society’s rigid traditions by using the Internet to flirt and chat, many say social-media networks give them a relatively safe place to pursue flings and even find potential spouses. All my friends are talking to boys on social media,” said a 23-year-old woman who described meeting a former boyfriend through Facebook.

Their relationship evolved into secret excursions in his vehicle and steamy encounters, she said. Because of the sensitivity of the topic, she and other people interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity. [The Independent] Read more

Sharia Law or One Law for All?

Here is the fulcrum around which so much of the problem turns: the belief that Islamic law has every right to be put into practice in non-Muslim countries, and the insistence that a parallel, if unequal, legal system can function alongside civil and criminal law codes adhered to by a majority of a country's citizens.

Salafism is a form of Islam that insists on the application of whatever was said or done by Muhammad or his companions, brooking no adaptation to changing times, no recognition of democracy or man-made laws.

The greatest expression of this failure to integrate, indeed a determined refusal to do so, may be found in the roughly 750 Muslim-dominated no-go zones in France, which the police, fire brigades, and other representatives of the social order dare not visit for fear of sparking off riots and attacks. Similar zones now exist in other European countries, notably Sweden and Germany. According to the 2011 British census there are over 100 Muslim enclaves in the country. [Gatestone Institute] Read more

I’m proud to be young, British and Muslim. Why should I change my name?

Every day there are attacks on Islam, prejudice against Muslims and Islamophobic assaults. Stop demonising us and embrace us as part of Britain.

.... Every day, as I walk to work past newsstands, it seems there’s another front-page splash demonising some aspect of Islam. Online, the comment threads below any article on Muslims are full of vitriolic messages.

Someone once said to me: “If I believed what they said about Muslims, I would have to hate my own mother, my family and everything about myself.” Not surprisingly, there are weekly reports of Islamophobic attacks; and vicious Islamophobic rants have been filmed on public transport.

The relentless assaults from popular broadsheets and tabloids are echoed by political leaders too. David Cameron’s language around refugees – “swarms”, “bunch of migrants” – contributes to the idea that they are a homogenous, threatening group. In January, he said that the “traditional submissiveness of Muslim women” was leaving young men vulnerable to radicalisation – reinforcing the stereotypes that Muslim women have to deal with daily.

Cameron upset not only the mothers, but also their children – people of my generation, who have come through the British education system, and have navigated the path of being young, British and Muslim. [1522 comments]

[TOP RATED COMMENT 1075 votes] Islam better get used to critcism if it insists on continuing to be homophobic, misogynist, sexist,and supporting such practises as honour killings and fgm, quite apart from the minority who stir up violence and hand out death threats to people who want to leave this 'religion' . No one intelligent is going to tolerate the intolerable.

[2ND 793] "Every day, as I walk to work past newsstands, there’s another front-page splash demonising some aspect of Islam."

How dare someone criticise religion.

[3RD 666] You're being far too generous here. Being of Pakistani origin and having lived in Bradford for 4 years i'm well qualified to say that many asian communities (especially in West Yorks) not only make no concerted effort to integrate, but they do not want any dilution (marriage, culture/work) with the indigenous population.

Religion is more important than: your country, your family (see honour killings) and your neighbour.

[4TH 648] I grew up in West Yorkshire and worked in Dewsbury for 7 years, I have to say that a large part of the Muslim community there, were the only group from the many different backgrounds/ethnicities who seemingly made little or no effort to mix or integrate.

[5TH 599] No one asked you to change your name... another Guardian article where someone expresses indignation about a non existent argument

If anything, the reverse is true in this country. For evidence, ask anyone how they feel when they call an overseas call centre and are spoken to by someone who claims they are called Alice or David etc when its patently untrue.

Stop looking for rubbish to moan about.

[6TH 598] Religion should not be beyond criticism.

[7TH 546] "They drink alcohol, live with their partners before marriage, and don’t fast for Ramadan."

Those are unambiguously un-Islamic. Very often, moderate or liberal Muslims aren't actually Muslims at all, but secular. If 'Muslims' are drinking alcohol, not observing Ramadan, among other things, it means that they have renounced those key elements of the religion. What might be preventing them from just renouncing the faith completely, I wonder? Is there a penalty for that? [The Guardian] Read more

These sharia courts have no place in our country

In this country there are thought to exist around 85 of these courts, which make rulings based on Islamic edicts rather than the laws of the land.

This is not simply an example of people choosing to live in accordance with their own beliefs. It is a case of religious leaders bullying others into obeying commands completely at odds with Britain’s own values of equality and fairness.

Time and again the rulings made are horrifyingly misogynistic. The entire system is rigged in favour of men with the rights of women given little more than passing consideration.

This is unacceptable in a civilised society and it has no place here.

Moreover the different groups that make up our nation cannot possibly live in harmony while there are still people following their own separate and self-policed legal code. These courts are one of the ways in which some Muslim communities have cut themselves off from the rest of Britain, a process which fuels hatred and division. [Daily Express] Read more